With Open Arms
by SunshineandDaisys
Summary: Xmas Oneshot: Kagome and Inuyasha spend Christmas together this year, but between the festivities, the hanyou reveals a secret from his past. Can Kagome help him through it?


Disclaimer: Okay, you've caught me.. I'm really Rumiko Takahash hiding from all those rabid Inuyasha fangirls. :P Seriously, I don't own Inuyasha. I also don't own the descriptions of Kagome's outfit. That belongs completely to my beta, Aithril. My original version sucked, so we changed it. :) 

A/N: Look! It's the one-shot I promised! :) Unfortunately, the majority of this story has proabably been beaten with a cartoon  
mallet, flown through Neverland, and stomped on my Bigfoot. However, I added some of my own original ideas to it so... I just got really inspired to do it because I'm a serious Inu/Kag shipper and I've never written a real Inu/Kag anything. Plus, it's Christmas, and this is going to be my Christmas fic. (doesn't _everyone_ have one?) It should be sweet. ;) 

I haven't seen the show in a while, so if anyone seems a little OOC,  
I'm sorry. -.- But don't worry. Inuyasha will still be a jerk and  
Miroku will like women. :P 

Also, I know that back in the Sengaku Jidai they probably had no  
earthly idea who or what Santa Claus was, but since this is my fic,  
they all know about him. XD Along with the present giving and such  
too. 

Okay, enjoy! 

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With Open Arms 

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Fat, fluffy snowflakes zipped through the air in the Sengaku Jidai one chilly, winter morning. It happened to be Christmas Eve, and all the children in the village were about to burst in excitement. And a few others with other emotions... 

"I wanna go home! It's CHRISTMAS EVE for Heaven's sake!" 

"No! You told me yesterday you sensed shards in the area. You are not  
going home until we find them!" 

"Inuyasha! It's becoming a blizzard outside! We will never find ANYTHING out there in this weather!" 

"But we're going to try!" 

"NO!" 

"YES!" 

"NO!" 

"YES!" 

"N--" 

"Would the two of you shut up for five seconds?!" Kaede growled. 

The two squabbling teens stared at her for a moment before turning back to each other and continuing their fight. 

"NO!" 

"YES!" 

"**NO!**" 

"**YES!**"

Kaede sighed. Sango shook her head and went back to grooming Kilala. Miroku sat in the corner of the warm hut watching the two with an amused expression. 

"Hey, Sango," he whispered. "I have a proposition for you." 

Sango gave him a dry look. 

"I will not bear your child, Miroku." 

"That's not what I was going to ask!" 

"Oh.. well what then?" 

"I don't know if I'll tell you now.. you've hurt my feelings." 

Sango whapped him lightly over the head with the brush she was using on Kilala. 

"Tell me or I'll really hit you." 

Miroku grinned. 

"Okay, I'll tell you. But you're welcome to hit me anytime, Sango." 

"Don't push it." 

"Right, right.." Miroku cleared his throat. "I say we make a little wager." 

"On what?" 

Miroku gestured at Inuyasha and Kagome. Sango gave him a questioning look. 

"What exactly are we betting they'll do _this_ time?" she asked quietly. "The last time I remember, quite clearly, that you lost and ended up waxing my boomerang for three weeks." 

Miroku's expression darkened. 

"Well, how was I supposed to know Kagura would show up and ruin  
everything?!" 

"You didn't, but I still won," Sango smiled smugly. "And besides, the likelihood of Inuyasha kissing Kagome is a very slim one." 

Miroku shrugged. 

"You never know with those two. One minute they're cuddling, next they're.." 

"I WILL SAY THE 'S' WORD! I WILL!" 

"YOU WOULDN'T!" 

"I WOULD!" 

"I DON'T CARE! YOU'RE STILL NOT GO--" 

"**SIT!**" 

A loud crash resounded through the hut. 

"Damnit, bitch!" 

"You deserved it!" 

"I did NOT!" 

"Did TOO!" 

"DID NOT!" 

"DID TOO!" 

"Yeah," Sango sighed. "They are pretty unpredictable." 

"Exactly," said Miroku grinning again. "That's why I want rematch from the last bet." 

"A rematch?" 

"Same bet, different stakes." 

Sango raised an eyebrow. 

"What stakes exactly?" 

"Well," Miroku began slowly. "If you win, I'll swear off women for a month." 

Sango's eyes widened. 

"You'd have to pretty sure they'll kiss this time to bet that, Miroku." 

"Kind of," he smirked. "Kagura wouldn't dare come out in this weather. And besides, Christmas is the time to be cozy with your loved ones." 

"I HATE YOU!" Kagome yelled. 

"I DOUBLE HATE YOU!" Inuyasha retorted. 

"Oh yeah," Sango said dryly. "Loved ones, uh-huh." 

Miroku, however, didn't look the least bit worried. 

"They always do this. They'll have to make-up eventually." He turned to the girl next to him. "So what do you bet if I win?" 

Sango considered this for a moment. 

"I bet that if you win, I won't hit you for any reason for a week." 

"Really?" Miroku sounded hopeful. 

"Really." 

The two smiled at each other and shook hands. 

"Then it's a deal," he said. "If Inuyasha kisses Kagome within the next 24 hours, you don't abuse me for a week. If he doesn't, I swear off women for a month." 

"Sounds good to me," Sango replied, and she went back to brushing Kilala. 

"YOU ARE SO RUDE AND INCONSIDERATE, INUYASHA!" 

"WELL, YOU'RE STUBBORN AND STUPID!" 

"OH YEAH?! WELL--" 

"THAT'S IT! YOU TWO, OUT! NOW!" Kaede smacked Inuyasha upside the head with a broom and shoved Kagome out the door. "Until you stop acting like children, you have to stay out there in the cold!" 

Kaede slammed the door behind her and went back to sweeping the floor. Sango and Miroku just blinked at each other before bursting into fits of small, ill-contained giggles. 

::: 

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::: 

Kagome crossed her arms and glared daggers at the boy next to her. 

"What?!" he asked quickly. "It's not my fault!" 

"Yes, it is!" she cried out. "If you hadn't been such an ignoramus, we wouldn't be standing out here freezing!" 

"Well, I'm not cold," he said huffily. "And I'm NOT an ignoramoose, or whatever you said." 

"Speak for yourself! I'm the one wearing the skirt and short sleeves." 

Kagome shivered and started to stomp off. Inuyasha followed after her, and it wasn't long before she felt a layer of warmth drape over her shoulders. She stopped and looked at Inuyasha, who was now half-shirtless.

"Thanks..," she said quietly, pulling the material closer around  
her. "But are you sure you're not cold?" 

"I'll live." 

"Okay..." 

They walked through the village slowly, watching as children darted out of their houses and started throwing snowballs at each other. The village was covered in a blanket of fresh, white snow, and more was falling constantly. There was the delicious aroma of holiday foods in the air as everyone prepared their feast for dinner tonight. Kagome had always wondered what Christmas would be like here, and it now seemed she'd find out,whether she liked it or not. 

The children began to huddle together and snicker. Kagome smiled as she realized what was happening. It was inevitable that they would aim for Inuyasha eventually.. 

"Get him!" they yelled as they broke out of their huddle and launched snowballs at the poor unsuspecting hanyou. Inuyasha dodged them easily, but the kids weren't giving up. Kagome stood away from the comotion, watching them throw everything they had at him. She began to feel sorry for them when after a minute or so, they still hadn't managed a single hit.. 

So as casually as she could, she leaned down and scooped up a pile of  
snow, forming it into a ball. Then she took aim and threw it right at the back of Inuyasha's head. 

"Bullseye," she called as she hit her mark. 

The hanyou whipped around with a disbelieving look on his face. But the shock quickly turned into a cocky smirk, and she knew she was in for it. So she did what any girl would do on the prospect of being pelted with snowballs: she ran. 

But her getaway was cut short by the mob of kids who were now encircling her. 

"Don't tell me you're helping him!" she exclaimed. 

"Sowwy, Kagome!" they said before each pulling out a snowball and tossing them at her. 

"Inuyasha!" she yelled, covering her face with her hands. "You big meanie!" 

"Well, you hit me!" 

"Well, your army of midgets is hitting me now!" 

The 'army of midgets' ran out of snowballs and began making more. Kagome peeked through her fingers to see Inuyasha standing about five feet away with his hands behind his back. When he noticed her looking, he grinned. Kagome felt her heart skip a beat like it always did when he smiled at her. She blushed a little and put her hands on her hips. 

"I know you have a snowball behind your back, Inuyasha. Don't you dare hit me with it." 

"And what will happen if I do?" he inquired, still grinning. 

"Umm..." 

Without any further ado, Inuyasha threw the snowball at her. Kagome attempted to duck, but it still hit the top of her head. 

"Ouch!" she cried. "You big meanie!" 

He crouched down in front of her. 

"You've called me a meanie twice now. And I didn't hit you _that_ hard." 

Kagome narrowed her eyes at him and scooped up a handful of snow. 

"I'm still gonna hit you back," she said, packing the snow into a tight ball. "Meanie." 

"Riight," Inuyasha drawled. "And I suppose you'll do it when my back's tur--MFFT!" 

Kagome smiled and stood quickly. 

"Nope, I was just gonna do it while you were right there." 

She tried to dart off, but while she and Inuyasha had talked, the children had started an all-out snow-throwing frenzy. Trying to find her way out of the mess proved harder than she thought.

"Kagome! Get back here!" 

"No! You'll hit me with more--pfft--SNOWBALLS!" 

"Maybe, but it's not like--mfft--you aren't getting hit with them now!" 

While that was true, she still wasn't sure she wanted to face a hanyou armed with snow... Right after she'd thought this, she was hit with hard a snowball. It surprised her so much, she stumbled back, ran into a kid, then fell completely to the ground. 

"Hey!" the kid yelped. "Watch it!" He hopped up and went after the others again. 

Kagome attempted to stand, but kept finding herself surrounded by kids. 

'Great,' she sighed. 'Now all that's left is for someone to trip on me..' 

"Ack!" 

Kagome looked up in time to see Inuyasha get hit with a snowball like she had a few moments earlier. He walked backwards and right over a kid. 

"Shit," he cursed as he turned around and tripped completely over the child. He landed with a loud 'OOF' next to her as the snow broke his fall. 

"Nice trip," Kagome commented as she gave him a 'haha' look. 

"Couldn't be helped," he muttered. "This isn't very comfortable." 

"No kidding." 

"Then what are you doing sitting around here?" 

"I fell like you did," Kagome admitted. "Too many kids zooming around, I can't get up." 

Inuyasha pulled himself into a sitting position and sat closer to her. 

"They'll all pass out in a minute," he shrugged. 

Sure enough, a minute or two later and all the kids ended up sitting, too. Kagome took this chance to stand up. But she had totally forgotten about the fire-rat suit Inuyasha had lent her, which had fallen off when she'd tripped. So as she stood, her feet got tangled in the fabric and she fell backwards again... right onto Inuyasha. 

"Whoa.." he exclaimed as she fell into his lap. 

She looked up to see his quizzical expression. The kids who'd witnessed this now began to snicker. 

"You okay?" Inuyasha asked her. 

"Oh yeah," she squeaked. "Just fine.. heh..." 

An embarrassed flush covered her cheeks. Inuyasha's quizzical look quickly changed to an embarrassed one as well when he realized what a strange position they were in. 

"Umm, maybe we should.. move..." 

"Yeah," Kagome agreed quickly. 

As they scrambled up, Miroku and Sango stood on the other side of the street. Miroku had a smile while Sango's mouth was his opposite.

"That happened too fast," she said sulkily. 

Miroku nudged her in the side. 

"Doubting you made the right bet now, eh?" 

"Not really, no. It never would've happened if you hadn't thrown those snowballs." 

She turned an icy glare on the monk. Miroku just laughed nervously. 

"True love needs a little push now and then," he said. "I couldn't help myself." 

Sango narrowed her eyes even more and crossed her arms. 

"Humph." 

Miroku let out a sigh of relief. He'd thought for sure she'd hit him. He was just about to comment that she hadn't when a pretty woman walked by, her eyes moving back and forth as if she was searching for something. The monk grinned. 

"Miss, can I help you with something? 

Sango's eye twitched. 

"Umm, yes, you could." 

"Great!" Miroku clutched the woman's hand in his own. "How may I help you?" 

"I'm looking for my child," she said dryly. 

Miroku dropped her hand like it was on fire, and Sango smirked. 

"Oh um, of course, mis--I mean, Mrs..." 

After the woman found her child, she thanked Miroku and went on her way. Sango snickered as he came back. 

"Stop laughing at my misfortune, Sango - it hurts me deep down." He put a hand over his heart and gave her a pathetic look. It only increased her snickering. 

"Fine!" he exclaimed. "But it's not like you would've helped anyway..." 

Sango stopped her tittering and gave Miroku a bored look. 

"And what is _that_ supposed to mean?" 

"It means I'm a better person," he said with enthusiasm. 

"You already broke our pact! That didn't look like swearing off women for a month to me!" 

"That only goes into effect afterwards!" 

"Oh, really?" Sango began evilly. "Two can play at that game." 

Miroku backed away slowly. 

"But that doesn't mean you have to inflict harm on me!" 

"No, it doesn't," she admitted. "But I still can if I want!" 

Miroku gulped. 

::: 

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Inuyasha and Kagome walked quietly away from the village. The children had recovered from their momentary reprieve and were now running like mad through the streets. The pair had tried to get back into Kaede's hut, but she had already thrown Miroku and Sango out so she could "rest in peace". Inuyasha had commented on this, but it had only earned him another  
broom whacking. 

So the two decided it was better out in the woods than in the midst of all the children in the village. Besides, Kagome had always thought it was easier to talk to the hanyou when they were alone. 

"Inuyasha," she began tiredly. "I want to go home." 

"Kagome--" 

"Let me finish. I want to go home and be with my family. We have traditions and I don't want to break them. Mama will want me to be in the _family_ photos, and at the _family_ dinner, and opening presents in the morning with the _family_. I promise I'll come back as soon as the last gift is unwrapped. So please?" 

She fixed him with a pleading gaze. He shifted uncomfortably before sighing. 

"Fine." 

Kagome's whole mood changed dramatically. She suddenly looked downright insane.

"Oh, thank you, Inuyasha!" She threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly, nearly dropping his fire-rat suit again. "Thank you thank you thank you!" She pulled away  
and grinned while wrapping the suit tightly around her again. 

"Uh, yeah.." His expression clearly said 'stay-away-from-me-you-lunatic '. But Kagome paid no attention to his disturbed look as she suddenly burst with new excitement. 

"I've got an IDEA!!!" she exclaimed. Inuyasha wasn't liking the sound of this. "You should come with me!" 

His eyes widened. 

"Kagome, you've lost your mind. I can't go with you!" 

"Why not?" she asked with disappointment. "You've never had a Christmas like I have. It  
would be so much better if you'd come..." 

"I just can't, okay?!" 

"Inuyasha! I don't want you to spend Christmas with Kaede and Miroku! Sango, it wouldn't be so bad, but you know how Kaede and Miroku get! Kaede's cranky in her old age and Miroku's slap-happy when he's drunk!" 

"How do you know _I'm_ not slap-happy when _I'm_ drunk, eh?" 

She gave him a dry look. 

"Because you can't stand to touch the stuff. It gives you a terrible headache just smelling it." 

He crossed his arms and looked at the ground. 

"Keh." 

"Stop being stubborn! We'll have turkey and ham and Mom's homeade  
pumpkin pie..." 

"Pumpkin pie? That sounds kind of gross.." 

"Stop changing the subject!" 

"I'm not!" 

"Yes, you are!" 

"Am not!" 

"YES, YOU--," Kagome stopped herself and let out a frustrated sigh. "Inuyasha, I want you to come with me. Please?" 

"Kagome, I said no!" 

"But--ACHOO--sorry about that. But you can't just--" 

"Are you getting sick?" 

"Probably," Kagome sighed. "It's so cold.." 

"Well, then hurry up and get back to your time. If you get sick, we'll never find the shards." 

"Oh, well, if that's all you care about!" 

"I didn't mean it like that!" Inuyasha said quickly. "I don't want you to be sick because you're.. um.." 

"Go on." 

"Um.." 

"See?!" She threw her hands up in exasperation. "Why do I even bother with being nice to you?! It's so--ACHOO--unfair to me!" 

"You _are_ getting sick!" 

"So?! I'm not going anywhere until you agree to come with me." 

"That's crazy talk!" 

"No, it's actually just spiteful. But I don't care! I'll freeze my--ACHOO--ass off all day if I have to." 

Inuyasha looked a little surprised at her words, but he still didn't seem to be going anywhere. So they stood there, in an unspoken staring contest as the snowfall seemed to get heavier. The only sounds heard were the distant laughter of children and Kagome's occasional sneezing. 

"Damnit, Kagome!" Inuyasha finally yelled after Kagome went into a fit of sneezes and had to blink. "Why do you want me to come with you?" 

"No big reason, I just thought it would be nice. We never spend holidays together." 

"Because little heart - shaped boxes full of candy or colorful eggs don't appeal to me. Okay?" 

"Well, Christmas is--ACHOO--different! Instead of candy and eggs, we have eggnog. Which, albeit, is kind of like candy and eggs mixed together.." 

Inuyasha opened his mouth to protest, but stopped himself. He sighed instead and muttered something unintelligible. 

"What did you say?" Kagome asked in confusion. 

"I.. maybe.. come..." 

"What?!" 

"I guess maybe I'll come!" he said loudly before looking down in slight embarrassment. 

"Finally," Kagome sighed. "Lets go then. I can't feel my toes anymore." 

Kagome led the way to the well as Inuyasha trudged quietly behind her. The wind was broken a little by the trees, but if you weren't careful, a load of snow could fall off the branches onto your head. Luckily, the two avoided that fate. 

"You first," Kagome said, pointing to the well. 

Inuyasha glared at her. 

"I'm not gonna trick you, Kagome. Just jump through already." 

Kagome crossed her arms stubbornly. 

"Don't be difficult, Inuyasha." 

"Me?!" 

"No, Al Pachino." 

"Who?" 

"Nevermind! Just jump in the stupid well!" 

"Why don't we just go together?!" 

"Because that would be--" 

"--too easy?" 

Kagome glared at him. 

"Okay, FINE. Together it is." 

Inuyasha held out his hand to her. She took it with a little hesitation. It may have been incredibly girly of her, but holding his hand felt so.. commitment-ish. It wasn't like they hadn't held hands before, but these days, all he had to do was look at her and her heart leapt into her throat... 

Speaking of throats... Inuyasha cleared his own loudly, shaking her from her thoughts. 

"You gonna jump or should I give you and the ground a few more minutes?"

"Oh, um, jump." 

"Great, we'll go on three." 

"Right." 

"One, two, three!" 

They jumped over the lip of the well and soon found themselves in the well house of the present era. Inuyasha jumped up first and then helped Kagome out. It was significantly warmer inside the shelter of four walls, so Kagome gave Inuyasha his coatback. He took it without question and put it on. She waited patiently for him to tie the cords and adjust Tensseiga. When he was done, they walked silently through the doorway and made their way to her house. 

"Kagome, are you sure your Mom won't mind me being here? I mean, I'm not exactly family..." 

"Are you listening to yourself?! She--ACHOO--loves you! You know that." 

"Right, but still..." 

"Is that what you were worried about?" Kagome asked him suddenly. 

"What?!" he answered quickly. "No..." 

Her eyes widened in astonishment as she deftly smacked his arm. 

"Inuyasha! You're welcome here, anytime. It's not like you haven't shown up at my window more than once trying to drag me off to hunt for shards..." 

"Keh. That's different." 

"You're right," she said as they reached the front door. "This time, we're going to feed you." 

He rolled his eyes and let her enter the house first. Once they were both inside Inuyasha began sniffing the air, inspecting the many Christmas decorations. The warm smell of freshly baked goods floated among decorations ranging from Santa Claus and his sleigh to a nativity scene. He was immediately fascinated with the jolly fat man in the red suit. He was poking a plushy one sitting on an end table when Kagome tapped his shoulder. 

"What?" he asked guiltily. 

"I'm gonna go see if I can help Mom out in the kitchen." 

"That's nice." 

She stared at him boredly.

"What now?!" 

"I'm not going to leave you here to molest Santa all day. You're coming with me." 

"Why?! I don't know anything about cooking!" 

Kagome grabbed his arm and began to pull him towards the kitchen. 

"Well, you at least have to let her know you're here. She'll need to make more food. You can eat truckloads." 

"Keh." 

"Kagome? Is that you?" Ms. Higurashi called. 

"Yes, Mama," Kagome answered as she entered the kitchen. "And I brought company." 

Kagome's mother was rolling out a large sheet of dough when she looked up at the pair. She smiled instantly. 

"Inuyasha, what a nice surprise. Glad you came." 

"Yeah..." 

Kagome nudged him in the side and gave him a 'I-was-right-haha' look. He in turn gave her a 'go-to-hell' look. She stuck out her tongue in reply. Kagome turned to her mother before Inuyasha could say anything. 

"Hey, Mama?" Kagome asked as Inuyasha made faces at her back. Kagome's mother  
looked up and Inuyasha smiled innocently at her.  
"Do you need help?" 

"Yes actually, if you don't mind. Could you finish these cookies? I have to rush out  
and buy another ham." 

Inuyasha scowled. Kagome smirked. 

"Of course!" 

Kagome's mother sighed in relief and took off her apron. 

"I'll be back as soon as I can, Kagome. Make sure Souta doesn't open any presents, and don't get your nice clothes dirty. We'll take pictures before dinner." 

"Wouldn't dream of it," Kagome said stiffly, and her mother nodded. 

"Bye, dear!" She handed the apron to Kagome and walked quickly out of the room. Before Kagome even had the thing tied around her neck, they heard the front door shut. 

"Dumb apron," she muttered as she struggled with the ties. "They won't stay still--" 

"Here," Inuyasha knocked her hands away and tied the straps; the tips of his claws brushed faintly against the skin on the back of her neck. It sent a chill down her spine and caused goosbumps to raise on her arm. 

"There," he said as he admired his handiwork. 

"Thanks," Kagome managed weakly, trying to fight the blush that was creeping its way back onto her cheeks. It was a useless fight, and she instead turned her attention to the sheet of dough in front of her. 

"Inuyasha," she began. "Could you find the cookie cutters for me? They should be in the cabinet above the oven over there." 

"Sure." 

Inuyasha had very little knowledge of culinary utensils, so whatever 'cookie cutters' were, he wasn't exactly sure he would find them. 

'If they're cutters,' he thought to himself. 'Then they'll be sharp. And so all I have to do is find something sharp..' 

But this wasn't going to be as easy as he thought. It never ceased to  
amaze him how many things humans of this era "needed". He inspected an  
entire shelf of spices, a shelf with egg-dying kits and some stencils,  
and a shelf covered in dust and the odd candy wrapper or two. 

"Kagome," he grumbled as he came back to her and her nicely pressed  
out dough. "They aren't above the oven." 

"Oh, I'm sorry. Try next to it." 

Inuyasha glared at her, but went to look anyway. When he opened  
the cabinet, he found more than just cookie cutters. 

"There are all kinds of knives in here!" he exclaimed. "Were you  
planning to murder Souta in his sleep with these or what?!" 

"No! Some of them are for steaks and breads, and the electric   
one is for carving turkeys." 

He gave her a dead-pan look. 

"Oh, for the love of.. I'll get the cookie cutters!" 

She marched over to him and pulled a large white box out of the cabinet.

"How does a box cut cookies?" 

Kagome closed her eyes and realeased a loud sigh in an attempt not to  
get frustrated. When she'd grasped her frustration, she opened her  
eyes to find Inuyasha staring at her with innocence that astounded her  
sometimes. One of his doggy ears twitched a little, and he  
reached up to scratch it with irritation. 

"Damn thing.." he muttered. 

Oh, yeah. Innocence. 

"Okay," Kagome turned back to her dough. "Come watch me and then you  
can see how cookie cutters work." 

Kagome pushed a stray strand of ebony hair behind her ear before  
emptying the contents of the white box beside the dough. She felt  
Inuyasha's presence right behind her. It was comforting and irritating  
at the same time, but it was also proving to be distracting. His warm  
breath tickled her neck and caused her heart to race. 

Doing her best to push back the feeling, Kagome began pressing many  
different cookie shapes into the dough. Inuyasha quickly caught on. 

"So all you do is push them in and that's it?" 

"Yeah," she breathed. "Pretty much." 

"Lemme try." 

"Wai--" 

Before she could move, he'd already picked up a snowman shape  
and reached to press it into the dough. By doing so, he also pressed  
himself up against Kagome's backside. He was bracing his left hand against the counter   
on her on one side and his right hand wasreaching around her other side to the cookie  
dough. She went rigid and, much to her disdain, he noticed. 

"What is it?" he asked, turning his head so he could look into her face. 

"Nothing," she managed almost breathlessly. "Nothing at all!" 

He raised an eyebrow and slowly put the cookie cutter down. Kagome  
just turned her head the other way. But Inuyasha was always stubborn,  
so he leaned closer to her and pressed himself completely against her. 

"Am I making you _uncomfortable_?" he asked with a hint of  
amusement. 

"...no..." 

"Are you _sure_?" 

"...yes..." 

"Are you absolutely pos--" 

"Inuyasha!" she said, suddenly turning towards him and finding  
their faces less than two inches apart. "Would you stop with the  
stupid questions?" she finished weakly. 

The smirk that had been on his lips now faded and his amber eyes  
softened as he looked down into her brown ones. His left arm trapped  
her body next to his and she couldn't get away. It was a classic  
moment, and she knew it. This was the part where the guy leaned down  
and kissed the girl. But Kagome had always thought the girl was happy  
inside. Somehow, she wasn't feeling so elated. In fact, she was almost  
at a panic. 

He lifted his right hand slowly to her face, and his thumb  
brushed against the side of her mouth. Instantly, she knew he  
was thinking along the same lines as she was. But she couldn't tell  
if he was as terrified as she was. Probably not. It wasn't his first  
kiss after all... 

Inuyasha had just opened his mouth to say something when Souta ran   
into the room. 

"Hey Kagome! Can you help me.. with.. oops. Sorry, guys, I didn't know you were--" 

"Making cookies?!" Kagome finished quickly for him as she pushed  
Inuyasha away. The hanyou seemed a little dazed and at a loss for  
words at the moment. 

"Umm, yeah," Souta said nervously. "Making cookies. That's what I was  
gonna say." 

An uncomfortable silence fell over the room. Kagome cleared her throat. 

"So, what did you need, Souta?" 

"Oh, um, I need some help wrapping Mom's gift." 

An idea popped into Kagome's head, and she grinned. 

"Hey, Inuyasha." 

The hanyou had been staring at the floor, but he looked up at the sound  
of his name. 

"Yeah?" 

Kagome turned to smile at him. He just gave her a suspicious look. 

"Why don't you help Souta? I can finish the cookies by myself." 

"Oh, right," he muttered, looking slightly put-out. Souta looked  
so excited that he might pee himself if he wasn't careful. 

"Great! Then we can wrap Kagome's present, too!" 

Inuyasha nodded and let the boy drag him out of the room. As soon as  
they were gone, Kagome's smile vanished. She examined the dough  
in front of her with a distant gaze. That had been a close one. If  
Souta hadn't come in, who's to say they wouldn't have kissed? Why was  
she suddenly so scared at the thought? She loved him, for God's  
sakes! He was all she dreamed about.. 

Kagome sighed and tucked the renegade strand of hair back behind her  
ear once more. She knew deep down why she was scared. But admitting it  
was something she didn't want to do. It would mean admitting other   
things that she was terrified of. 

As she placed the cookies in the pan carefully, she couldn't  
help but wonder, 'How does Kikyo still hurt me when I'm finally  
getting what I want?!' 

::: 

:::: 

::: 

"So they went back to Kagome's time?" 

"Yup." 

"Together?" 

"Yup." 

"And they've been gone for nearly an hour?" 

Miroku grinned before answering, "Yup." 

Sango narrowed her eyes. 

"Did you push them in?!" 

"No!" 

The demon slayer sighed. 

"You don't think he's staying the night there, do you?" 

Miroku's grin got, if possible, even bigger. 

"Well, if he does, I would say it's about time--" 

Sango boxed his ears. 

"Even if he did, he would NEVER do that!"

The monk was grimacing. 

"What did you say, Sango dear? All I hear is ringing..." 

"I said I'd bear your child." 

"You did?!" 

"Ha! You can hear." 

"Only a little!" 

Sango rolled her vibrantly colored eyes and stared off at the trees. She must have  
zoned off because she didn't notice Miroku taking aim at her until it was too late. 

The loosely packed ball of snow shattered against her arm, and  
she jumped. 

"Miroku!" she yelled incredolously. 

Said man was laughing at her reaction. 

"Sorry! Couldn't resist! I have to hit at  
least three people a day. Thanks for being lucky number three,  
Sango dear!" 

"You mean hitting _on_ people, you pervert. And stop calling me  
dear!" 

"Right, right.." 

Sango contemplated throwing a snowball back at him, but she knew  
he would be expecting it. Besides, she wasn't one for snowball  
fighting with guys. It felt like flirting to her. Not that she didn't  
think Miroku was cute, oh no, he was plenty cute. But she wasn't ready  
to let him know how she felt about his looks. 

Not just yet... 

"So did you really say you'd bear my child?" 

Maybe she'd tell him in a few years.. or a few decades... 

::: 

::::: 

::: 

Kagome walked into the room just as Souta placed two wrapped presents  
under the tree. Inuyasha was sitting next to the tree indian style  
with his arms crossed over his chest. Kagome smiled gently at him and  
then handed him his snowman cookie. 

"I iced it for you, hope you don't mind." 

He took it with a wary look. Then he sniffed at it, and poked it a few  
times. 

"Don't act like it's poison, Inuyasha," she said with a  
not-so-discreet eye roll. "Here, Souta, you have one too." 

"Yeah, Inuyasha, she wouldn't kill her own brother." 

The hanyou gave him a bored look. 

"Have you looked in the cabinet beside the oven lately?" 

Kagome thumped her sibling on the head and took a seat between  
them. She had nearly eaten all of her tree, shaped cookie   
when she glanced at Inuyasha. He was still staring at the cookie in  
his hand! 

"Inuyasha, really, it's just a bunch of sugar and harmless calories.  
Well.. harmless for you anyway..." 

He turned his still bored gaze on her. 

"Maybe I just don't feel like eating it?" 

"You feel depressed?" 

"I didn't say that..." 

"Then why aren't you eating the cookie?!" 

"Because I don't feel like it!" 

Souta watched the two with growing intrest. It was amazing how they picked fights just to hide their feelings. The two obviously liked each other. There was no reason they couldn't simply admit it. Souta figured they were too stubborn. 

"Would you just eat the stupid thing?! It won't kill you!" 

"I don't want to eat the damn thing, **okay**?!" 

"Inuyasha! Not in front of Souta!" 

"Well, he'll hear it sometime!" 

"I'd rather it not be today! " 

"Too damned bad!" 

"Oooh!" Kagome began angrily. "That's it!" 

She grabbed one of the fuzzy appendages on top of his head and yanked  
his face close to hers, ignoring his yelp of  
pain. 

"**Eat. The. Freaking. Cookie.**" she ground out before releasing  
his ear with a savage twist. 

He narrowed his eyes murderously at her but it hardly registered.  
She'd had enough of fighting with him today. He was being difficult on  
purpose - she just wished he'd tell her why. Then maybe she could enjoy her holiday... 

"Fine," he growled. "I'll eat it." 

And so he did. Kagome watched him until every last bite was gone. By  
that time, her anger had started to dissipate. She was even  
feeling guilty for abusing his ear. Inuyasha, however, was even more  
pissed than before. Souta wasn't sure what to make of all this, so he  
excused himself from the room and left the teens to their squabbling. 

"What is your problem?" Kagome asked with an effort not to yell. 

"I don't have a fucking problem." 

"Obviously, you do!" 

"I don't! So just leave me the hell alone already." 

She frowned. 

"Inuyasha.." 

The front door opened, and Ms. Higurashi  
scurried in with two large brown paper bags. Inuyasha went to help her  
out. It was a very nice thing of him to  
do, considering the mood he was in. Though it was most likely  
just a way for him to get away from the fight. 

"Thank you, Inuyasha!" Ms. Higurashi sighed  
as she hung her jacket on the coat rack. 

Inuyasha grunted in response and placed the bags on the table. Kagome  
walked into the kitchen with them and tried to put a hand on his  
shoulder but he shrugged her off. 

"Kagome dear," her mother began as she placed the contents of the bags  
into the refridgerator. "Did you finish the  
cookies?" 

"Yes, Mama," Kagome answered with a fake  
smile. "They're cooling on the rack over there." 

"Good then," The older woman smiled warmly at  
her daughter. "You can go relax for a while if you want to. If I need  
your help, I'll call." 

This was a sign that serious cooking was about to begin, and sticking around would risk getting mistaken for a assistant. So the two left the room quietly and made their way back to the living room. Unfortunately, Kagome's Grandpa was already occupying the couch and looked like he was taking a nap. 

Kagome stood there for a moment uncomfortably before Inuyasha turned  
to head upstairs. She wanted to follow him but the guilt was stopping  
her. Squeezing her eyes shut, she thought about her chances with  
a cranky grandfather or a cranky hanyou. Neither was very appealing,  
but sitting around with Grandpa was the less  
dangerous choice. 

She had just started to tiptoe into the quiet room when she heard a  
"Meow" below her. Kagome looked down to see a pair of small,  
beady eyes staring intently at her. 

"What do you want, Buyo?" she whispered. 

"Meow." 

"Stop looking at me like that.." 

"..meow." 

"I'm sure he just needs space!" 

"Meow." 

"He wouldn't want me to bother him.." 

Buyo blinked at her before rubbing up against her legs and slinking  
off upstairs. Kagome sighed. She'd just gotten told off by a  
_cat_. Buyo was right though. She couldn't keep running from  
Inuyasha. If he was upset, she needed to help him as best she  
could. After all, who else would? 

Even with those thoughts, she still found it hard to climb the stairs.  
Harder still was opening the door to her room. She found him sitting  
on the end of her bed staring solemnly at the floor. He didn't bother  
with seeing who it was. Kagome figured he must know by her scent.  
Being part dog and all... 

Her eyes instantly fixed on his ears. The one she'd twisted was  
slightly pinker than the other. Her heart went out to him. How could she have even thought to leave him alone? 

"Inuyasha," she began timidly. "Are you mad at me?" 

No answer. 

"You have every right to be," She shut the door  
softly behind her and took a few uneasy steps towards the hanyou. "I  
shouldn't have hurt you like that. But I just got so angry with you  
because you're keeping something from me. It hurts me that you don't  
trust me--" 

"I trust you, Kagome," He snapped his golden gaze on her, and she froze."You just.. you wouldn't understand..." His eyes found the floor again. 

"Try me." 

She closed the distance between them and sat down beside him. 

"I already told you, you wouldn't understand. Why bother?" 

"Inuyasha, I'm your friend. Even if I don't understand, I'll listen.  
You've had to listen to me when I'm upset before. I can return the  
favor now." 

He chanced a look at her, and she smiled just a little at him.  
They held each others gazes long enough for her to see the obvious  
pain in his eyes. Her tiny smile disappeared, and she reached to  
touch him, but he pushed her hand aside. 

"Kagome, if I tell you.. you can't.. you can't tell anyone else, okay?" 

"Of course." 

Inuyasha stared back down at the carpet for a long time. Kagome almost  
thought he'd forgotten she was there. But then he began to speak. 

"When I was little.. a long time ago, when.. when my mother was still  
alive.. we used to have Christmas together. We'd make snowmen and  
she'd tell me stories all day long. Then in the morning, she'd give me  
a present... It was the only time of year that I could be happy. But  
then.. after she was gone.. I had no one to be with during the  
holiday. Nobody wanted someone like me around..." Inuyasha paused and closed his eyes for a moment. "So I decided that I  
would never celebrate Christmas or any other holiday again... It just   
wasn't the same without her..." 

He trailed off, but they both knew there was no need to  
continue. He slowly brought his eyes back to hers and found that she  
was almost crying. 

"Kagome, don't cry. It's not worth--" 

She pressed a cool finger to his lips to silence him before wrapping  
her arms around his neck and climbing into his lap. He wrapped his  
arms around her waist in an almost unsure manner. After they'd been in  
that position for a few minutes, Kagome pulled away, but kept  
her hands locked firmly behind his neck. 

"Inuyasha," she whispered. "I didn't know... I'm sorry I put you  
through all that. But I'm not sorry for making you come. No one should  
be alone on Christmas. And besides, you're always  
welcome here. Always." 

His features softened, and she smiled warmly at him. 

"Hang on just a minute," she commanded as she slid out of his lap andwalked over to the light switch. She flipped it off and then kicked her shoes to the side. As she padded back to the bed, Inuyasha  
gave her a questioning look. Then, as she slid under the covers, he became even more confused. 

"Come on, Inuyasha," she whispered.

"Kagome, I.." 

"Come on." 

He gingerly made his way to the head of the bed where she was, but  
then he paused. 

"Inuyasha, it's just a nap," she sighed. "It's a tradition around here  
to be lazy whenever possible. You don't have to freak out over  
it." 

"Are you sure?" 

"Of course I'm sure! Now, please?" 

Inuyasha slid underneath the covers and rested his head on one of the fluffy pillows. But he refused to get any closer to the girl next to him than he had to. So Kagome did the job for him, sliding as close to him as she dared. She gently tugged at his arms until they wrapped around her. 

"Why are you doing this?" he asked quietly. 

"Because it's either me or grandpa."

Inuyasha looked disgusted at the thought. 

"Besides," she whispered. "Now I can do this..." 

Kagome reached up tenatively to the same ear she'd grabbed  
earlier. But this time, her touch was anything but harsh. Inuyasha  
went stiff as she ran her finger tenderly along the rim of his  
ear, being careful not to press too much for fear of hurting him further. 

"Kagome.." he breathed. "What are you doing..?" 

"Making up for what I did earlier," she sighed softly, revelling at the sensual texture of his fur. It was so silky... "Am I making it worse?" 

"No..." 

"Do you want me to stop?" 

"No. I mean, yes. I mean..." 

He paused before pulling her closer to him and taking her busy hand in  
his. For a moment, she thought he was going to make her stop.  
But instead, he placed her fingers the way he wanted them against his  
fur. 

"Do it that way," Inuyasha whispered into her ear as he rested his  
chin on her shoulder. Kagome resumed her massaging, this time with a  
bright pink flush on her cheeks. After a while, she let her hand fall away from his ear.  
Inuyasha pulled the covers closer around them and buried his face into the crook of her neck with a deep sigh of  
content. 

Kagome's last thought was, 'I bet he never told Kikyo any of this..  
maybe he does care for me more...' 

::: 

:::: 

::: 

It had been nearly five hours since Inuyasha and Kagome had  
dissappeared down the well. What a fun-filled five hours it had  
been, too. 

Miroku had refused to stop throwing snowballs at people... until  
he threw one too many, that is. His final snowball had hit a rather tall  
man square in the back of the head. The poor man had been trying to  
fix a window pane and nearly fell off his ladder. Sango had  
witnessed Miroku go as white as the snow that lay on the ground. 

Five minutes after the incident, Miroku had sat  
sulking in the corner of Kaede's hut with a big black shiner on his right eye. Kilala had been the first to take the opportunity to stretch out next to  
him and sleep. The monk had softened and begun to scratch the cat behind her ears. 

Shippo had been plenty upset that he hadn't seen Kagome before she had  
left. When asked about his whereabouts the kitsune  
had blushed slightly and mumbled something about getting  
mistaken for a doll. 

After Shippo had stopped fretting about not seeing the miko, he'd  
settled down next to Kilala and Miroku. When Kaede had seen  
them, she'd started grumbling about how many lazy buffoons she had lying around these days. Sango had smiled at this and went about mending a rip in her suit from their last demon encounter. 

However, it didn't take long for the sewing to make her sleepy. Sango  
had never been known for liking chores, but she hadn't been lazy  
either. If things needed to be done, she'd do them. But right  
now, however, all she wanted to do was curl up with Shippo and Kilala, and maybe Miroku too. 

With a delicate sigh, Sango put away her things and went over to  
the cozy corner everyone seemed to be occupying. She hesitated for a  
moment before sitting quietly down next to the sleeping man. Leaning  
her head against his shoulder, she drifted easily off into dreamland.  
Even when Miroku slipped a sneaky arm around her waist, she  
remained in slumber. 

A smile danced across the monk's lips as he leaned his head against hers and went back to the dream he'd been having. Something about a sudden shortage of clothes in the village... 

::: 

::::: 

::: 

Kagome flitted from one part of the kitchen to the next trying to help  
her mother. Souta and Inuyasha leaned boredly on the counter and  
watched the two women work. Kagome and Inuyasha's nap had been  
disturbed by Buyo, who had been running from Souta, who had been  
running from Ms. Higurashi... In any case, it had been  
well past time to wake up. Three hours was ample time to rest. 

Then Kagome had been enlisted to help with dinner preperation. Even  
though it was only one in the afternoon, the ham needed to be put in  
the oven so that it could be cooked slowly and stay tender and juicy.  
Pies needed to be made and placed in the fridge to set. The punch  
needed to be mixed and chilled... 

"How long will they be doing this?" Inuyasha asked the boy next to him. 

"I dunno," Souta replied lazily. "Sometimes a couple of hours..." 

"Oh, God..." 

Inuyasha fought the urge to go back to sleep. He'd been perfectly  
content to stay asleep all day till that damned cat came in...  
his eyes narrowed.

'Maybe I can switch Buyo with the ham?' he thought happily. "He's fat enough...' 

The hanyou was just contemplating ways to cook a cat with fur intact  
when Souta tapped him on the shoulder. Inuyasha snapped his gaze over  
to the boy. 

"What?" 

"You wanna play video games?" 

"Is that the box with moving pictures in it?" 

"Yeah, you use controllers." 

"Umm.." 

"I'll show you!" 

Souta grabbed Inuyasha's hand and dragged him out of the room for the second  
time that day. Kagome and her mom watched them go with a smile. 

"He's good with Souta," Ms. Higurashi noted as she began mixing ingredients for pumpkin pie. "I'm glad you brought him." 

"Yeah," Kagome agreed. "It wasn't easy though. He didn't want to come  
because.. umm..." She paused her pie crust molding to look at her mother. "He didn't think he would be welcome here." 

Ms. Higurashi gave her daughter a disbelieving look. 

"He should know he can come here whenever he wants! He does show up at  
your window quite often.." 

"But, Mama," Kagome murmered. "This holiday is hard for him. He and his mother used to spend it together." 

The older woman softened. 

"Oh, well that would explain it then." 

The two worked in silence after that. Both of their minds busy dwelling on a certain  
amber-eyed half demon. 

::: 

::::: 

::: 

The afternoon passed by quickly for the Higurashi household. Inuyasha  
and Souta played video games until Kagome was done cooking. Then the  
siblings decided to educate Inuyasha on Santa and the many different  
Christmas traditions. They read Christmas stories, watched the Rudolph TV special, and Kagome told a few of the different religious stories from around the world. 

They had just begun forcing Inuyasha to listen to Christmas songs when  
Grandpa walked in.. wearing a snazzy black tux. 

"Damn," Kagome muttered under her breath. 

"Lookin' spiffy, Grandpa!" Souta exclaimed. 

"Yeah, yeah. Kagome, your mother said you need to  
go change for the picture. You have half an hour." 

"Okay, Grandpa," she sighed and made for the  
stairs. "Be nice to Inuyasha, he's spending all of Christmas with us." 

"What?!" the old man spluttered. "But, Kagome!" 

The teen choose not to hear her elder relative. No one would make  
Inuyasha leave now. Not after seeing how happy he'd gotten. She smiled  
to herself in remembrance of being in his arms. And he certainly  
wasn't leaving after how happy _she'd_ gotten. 

'Spending Christmas together was such a good idea,' she  
congratulated herself once she reached  
her room. 'Now if I can just survive these family pictures...' 

Twenty-nine minutes later, Kagome was staring at her reflectionin the mirror, a critical expression on her face. 'She wore a form-fitting dress with spaghetti straps that reached to just above her knees. The maroon color of the material was distorted in places by a sheer silvery gauze, causing a melting of reds to occur in such a way that Kagome was reminded of ripe summer cherries. The ruffles also trimmed the bottom hem of the dress and surrounded the v-neck in a delicate, feminine lace. 

Her shoes were silver stilletos that had a dull shine to them; she'd hunted in the shoe store for hours to find ones that matched her dress. The shiny red gloss that glistened on her lips also matched the material, and it was accented further by a light covering of mascara and minimal amounts of blush. She couldn't help but admire the contrast between her pink cheeks and the long sable locks of hair that fell elegantly around her face. They shone from being brushed free of tangles, and she'd flat ironed every strand to be smooth and straight. 

"Kagome!" her mother called. "Hurry it up!" 

"I'll be there in a second!" she replied as she gave herself another look in the mirror. 

"I look like a slut," she muttered. "This thing is too tight..." 

She began fidgeting with the dress straps again. 

"Kagome! Today, please?!" 

"I'm coming! I'm coming!" she grumbled, tearing herself away from the mirror. Taking the  
staircase was always tedious for her, but taking it in heels was even worse. Praying she wouldn't trip and kill herself, she took each step slowly. Eventually, Souta and her mother came into view. 

"Mom!" Souta whined. "I look dorky!" 

"You look handsome," Ms. Higurashi said as she straightened her son's bow tie. 

"He looks like a proper young man," Kagome heard her grandfather say. 

"He looks like a duck," She heard Inuyasha mutter loudly. 

"See, Mom?!" Souta exclaimed. "Inuyasha agrees with me!" 

"Well, Inuyasha doesn't count right now." 

"Feh." 

"Does he ever matter?" 

"Dad! Be nice!" 

"Why?! He's never nice to me!" 

"Because you've been cursing me under your breath since I got here!" 

"Errr, no, I haven't..." 

"Could you two be nice for five minutes?" Kagome asked as she entered  
the room. 

"Yes," her mother agreed. "Be civil while we take the pictures." 

But the two men were no longer intrested in bickering with each other.   
All eyes were on Kagome... and it was making her uncomfortable. 

"What?!" She blushed. 

"You look very lovely, Kagome," her grandfather said with a smile. 

Inuyasha turned his head away and pretended the carpet was a very interesting specimen. Kagome's blush lessened, but was still present.

"Mom, can we just hurry up and take the picture?" 

"As soon as I fix your brother's suit, Kagome." 

"He looks fine!" 

"I look like a duck! Inuyasha said so! I think I should change--" 

"Inuyasha doesn't count right now," Kagome repeated. "I just wanna get  
this over with so I can change." 

"Well, since it's your comfort that matters.." Souta drawled. 

"Alright, you two," Ms. Higurashi stood and straightened her own maroon dress. "Don't make me force you to sit by each  
other in the picture." 

The siblings crossed their arms and made sounds of disdain at the  
thought of being within five inches of each other. But with their  
mother's guidance, their grandfather's grumblings, and Inuyasha's not-so-quiet  
snickerings, they ended up positioned right next to each other. The elder  
Higurashi sat on Souta's right, and Kagome sat on Souta's left, which  
left some couch space next to Kagome. 

Ms. Higurashi positioned the camera so that when the timer went  
off, it would capture the whole group. She was just about to  
turn on the timer when she paused and slowly turned to look at the hanyou in the corner. She smiled at him. 

"Inuyasha, go sit next to Kagome, please." 

"What?! Why?" 

"Because I would like you in the picture!" 

"But.. I'm not..." 

Kagome bit her lip before quickly getting up and walking over to him.  
She stood on tiptoe and whispered softly into his ear. 

"Yes, you are. Now come on." 

Kagome slipped her fingers into his and pulled him over to the couch; she felt his fingers close around hers, and when she was forced to let go, she frowned lightly. 

"Alright now," Ms. Higuarshi said, positioning the camera again.  
"Squish together, everyone, so I can fit!" 

Everyone did as they were told, and Ms. Higurashi hit the button  
before running quickly over to the couch. A small yellow light began flashing  
on the camera. 

"Ack! Souta! Your elbow is in my side!" 

"Well, your side is in my elbow!" 

"That didn't make sense, you moron! Move over!" 

The yellow light blinked faster. 

"I can't! Grandpa won't move!" 

"I need my space to breathe, you know. In an ancient proverb, it  
says that the man who cannot breathe is the man who--" 

"--won't stop talking?" Inuyasha finished. 

"Why you-you-YOU evil dem--" 

The yellow light turned red. 

"DAD! The picture will be taken in less than twenty seconds! Stop  
fighting and smile! Oh, I'm sorry, Inuyasha, didn't mean  
to yell in your ear." 

"Umm, what did you say?" 

"She'll tell you later, Inuyasha!" Kagome yelled in  
exasperation. "Just shut up and smile!" 

"Okay, okay! But I don't wanna smile or nuthun'.." 

The red light was blinking furiously now. 

"Well, just shut up and look natural!" 

"I will!" 

The light stopped altogether, and suddenly a flash illuminated  
the room. 

"What the he--" 

Kagome clapped a hand over Inuyasha's mouth and his words were  
muffled. She laughed nervously as he gave her a dry look. 

"Oof err nan r ull ick ut." 

"What?" Kagome asked, removing her hand. 

"I said, move you hand or I'll lick it." 

"Eww!" 

"Well, it was that or suffocate!" 

"Can't you breathe out of your nose?!" 

"Yes, but what if I didn't feel like it?" 

"You like being difficult, don't you?" 

"Maybe." 

Ms. Higurashi smiled at the two and pulled her father away from the  
room. 

"Help with dinner please, Dad," she said happily. "Kagome's  
busy." 

"No, she's not, she's--OW! Okay okay! I'm your father, not  
your son! Don't wrench my arm like that!" 

Souta watched his mother enter the kitchen and then turned his attention to the  
two next to him. Neither seemed to notice he existed right now, so.. 

"Where's your brother going so fast?" Inuyasha asked as Souta suddenly  
sprinted up the stairs. 

"He's going to change into his normal clothes, set his suit on fire, and toss it out the window,"  
Kagome answered as if it was the most casual topic in the world. 

"Are you serious?!" 

"Yup, he does it every year." 

Inuyasha took a moment to digest this. 

"You mean your mother just _lets_ him set his clothing on fire?" 

"Pretty much, yeah. He outgrows the stuff the next year anyway. Shedoesn't like it, but she always forgets until the flaming suit falls by the kitchen window. Which reminds me, I need to borrow Souta'slighter when he's done..."

The look Inuyasha was giving her could've peeled paint. 

"Well, if he can burn his clothes, I can burn mine!" she exclaimed  
huffily. "This stupid dress is so.. stupid!" 

"Oh, wow, Kagome, I think I'll go write that one down." 

"Shut up." 

The pair sat quietly for a moment before Inuyasha muttered, "You look nice in  
that dress. You shouldn't burn it." 

Kagome blinked a few times before turning to stare at him. 

"You really think so?" 

Inuyasha had been looking at her, but the moment she turned her  
head, his eyes wandered to the floor again. What could possibly  
be so interesting about the _carpet_?! 

"Inuyasha?" 

Kagome scooted closer to him. 

"Inuyasha..?" 

She blew the air out of her cheeks and waved a hand frantically in  
front of his face. 

"HelloOoOoOo?!"

"Kagome, I--" 

He turned to find their faces even closer than earlier. In fact, their  
noses touched slightly. Kagome felt the all-too-familiar butterflies spring up in her stomach and her face heat up. She swore Inuyasha was blushing as well, but she couldn't tell. All she could see were his eyes. His warm, amber eyes... 

Inuyasha tenatively slid his hand to rest on her neck, his thumb against her jaw line. Kagome's eyelashes fluttered as he tilted his head to brush his lips against hers. Her hand moved  
along his arm till she reached his face, then she pulled him closer. 

They had just closed their eyes and were mere seconds apart from  
kissing when... 

"Meow." 

They flew apart like a priest and a hooker; both had a hand pressed over their heart. 

"Buyo?!" Kagome gaped at the fat cat sitting so innocently in front of her. "You almost gave me a heart attack, you evil little fuzz ball!" 

"Meow..?" 

"Damned cat," Inuyasha muttered. 

Buyo blinked up at Kagome, then at Inuyasha. Then the cat uncerimoniously stood and left the room, leaving two embarrassed, bewildered teenagers sitting together in awkward silence on a couch, in an empty living room. Well, that was until.. 

"SOUTA! NOT AGAIN! DAD, GO GET THE FIRE EXSTINGUISHER!" 

Lots of loud banging and clattering could be heard throughout the  
house. Every once in a while, someone would run through the living  
room. It was either Kagome's grandfather with a fire exstinguisher,  
Kagome's mother looking for Souta, or Souta looking for a place to  
hide; the place had been sent into chaos. 

"I think I'll go change now," Kagome sighed as a firetruck siren  
sounded in the distance. 

"You do that," Inuyasha said boredly; once Kagome'd left the room, he  
added, "But you really did look nice.." 

::: 

::::: 

::: 

One hour, three fights, one large service bill, one sulky twelve year old and five burnt bushes later, dinner was served. 

It consisted of: one turkey, two hams, two large bowls of mashedpotatoes, buttered peas, carrots, corn, and green beans, two cans of cranberry sauce, salad, rolls, stuffed bell peppers, vegetable soup, a few casseroles, and all the trimmings.

"What is _that_?!" 

"Eggplant casserole." 

"There's a plant made from eggs?" 

"In ancient times, there was a plant made from stars. They  
produced star berries and when the people ate them, their hair  
glowed." 

"And then pigs flew, right?" 

"I saw a pig fly once!" 

"You did not!" 

"In a movie, I did!" 

"That doesn't count!" 

"It does too!" 

"Enough! I want some peace while we eat." 

"...so is there a plant made from eggs?" 

Dinner was followed by the famous homeade pumpkin pie. Inuyasha had been hesitant to try it. But after the first bite, it was obvious that if you didn't already have a slice, you'd better get on fast. 

After dessert it was time to clean up, wash up, change into PJ's and enjoy one last family tradition: the reading of The Night Before Christmas. 

"I thought we'd read all these dumb stories," Inuyasha grumbled as Kagome plopped down beside him. 

"Nah, I saved this one because I knew Mom would wanna read it.  
Besides, Christmas stories are always better in front of fires with  
hot chocolate." 

She stirred her own mug with a smile. 

"Feh. It's still probably a boring story." 

Ms. Higurashi sat down on the couch in front of Souta, Kagome, and  
Inuyasha. Grandpa had gone to bed early. 

"Okay," she began as she opened the old book in front of her. "Twas  
the night before Christmas, and all through the house, not a creature  
was stirring. Not even a mouse. The stockings were hung by the chimney  
with care, in hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there..." 

Kagome rested her head on Inuyasha's shoulder and closed her eyes. She  
loved the story, really, she did but it had been a long,  
exhausting day, even with the nap. Besides, she was still listening.. sort of... 

"And he shouts, 'Merry Christmas to all, and to all, a good night!'" 

Ms. Higurashi looked up from her book to find her listeners dozing off.  
Souta had slumped over on the floor, and Inuyasha and Kagome were  
leaning against each other. The woman grinned; thoughts of small  
children with fuzzy ears were dancing through her mind. 

Placing the book to the side, she woke up Souta and began to lead him  
up the stairs. Once he was tucked securely into bed, she tiptoed into  
the living room and draped a large blanket over the two sleeping teens. Then she collected the hot chocolate mugs and left the room, making sure to flip the lights off on her way out. 

::: 

::::: 

::: 

Kagome woke to the sounds of a disgruntled cat. She cracked one eye  
open to see a large amount of fur in front of  
her. Opening both eyes slowly, she realized Buyo was sandwiched  
between herself and.. Inuyasha! The cat was stuck and was now meowing  
furiously. 

"Oh, Buyo," she sighed, moving enough so that the cat  
would be free'd. "You're so stupid sometimes." 

Said cat paid no attention to her as he followed the rich scent of cinnamon into the kitchen. Kagome sighed at the thought of whatever could be cooking. Then she  
remembered Inuyasha. 

She stole a glance at him. He was leaning against a wall with his head  
turned slightly to his left. He snored lightly. Kagome shifted again  
and his arms tightened their hold around her waist. 

'Why didn't Mom wake us up?' she wondered to herself. Then realization dawned. 'She better not be on about grandchildren again...' 

Kagome grimaced in remembrance at her mother's last attempts with knitting needles before resting her head back against Inuyasha's shoulder.

'I wonder if she ever will have grandchildren?' she began thinking  
again. 'Souta will surely find a nice girl someday. But what about me?  
Will I always love Inuyasha?' 

Kagome stared at his serene face for a moment before leaning up and kissing him softly on the cheek. 

'Yeah.. I guess I will.' 

::: 

::::: 

::: 

Sango sat grumpily across from a rather happy monk. 

"Stop looking so giddy," she grumbled. "People will think you're gay." 

Kaede snorted. 

"Sango, I'm only happy because my good friends have finally gotten  
together!" 

"You don't know that for sure! And you've also had copious  
amounts of alcohol." 

"The more the merrier, I say!" Miroku took another sip of hissake. "I should probably save some for the party later  
though..." 

"What party?" Shippo asked as he swallowed the bread he'd been chewing. 

"For Inuyasha and Kagome, of course! I wonder if they'll be  
expecting children soon..." 

Sango threw her cup of water at the monk. 

"When they come back, there will be no party!" 

"Why not?!" Miroku asked grumpily as his hair hung in wet tendrils  
around his face. 

"Because we don't know if there's a reason to celebrate!" 

"Why else would he spend the night?!" 

"Not all men are horny jerks like you, Miroku! Some actually CARE  
about the ones they love!" 

The demon slayer angrily stomped out of the hut and into the snow.  
Kilala meowed in disdain at Sango's departure and went to curl up next  
to Shippo. 

"Do you think she's mad at me?" Miroku asked nobody in particular. 

"Err, yeah," Shippo answered slowly. 

"Do you think I should apologise?" 

"Maybe when you're sober," Kaede said before sipping her sake.

The monk nodded and went back to his breakfast. 

::: 

::::: 

::: 

"Santa! Santa! Santa!" Souta practically flew down the stairs. "What  
did I get?!" 

"You're gonna get a beating if you don't watch it!" Kagome  
exclaimed as he narrowly missed her. "Mom says you have  
to eat before you open gifts." 

"Why?!" Souta whined. 

"Because you do," Inuyasha yawned. "And she won't let us eat unless  
everybody's together, so hurry it up. I'm starving." 

"What's new?" Kagome rolled her eyes. 

"Shut up," he mumbled as they walked into the kitchen. 

"Sleep well?" Ms. Higurashi greeted them cheerfully. 

The two blushed and muttered incoherant things  
ending in "I guess..". 

"Good! Have some cinnamon rolls. There's icing on the table if you  
want some. I'm going to go tear your brother away from his presents  
now." 

They nodded and watched her go. Then the pair set to work on selecting, icing, and eventually eating their rolls. 

"They're messy," Inuyasha said, licking icing off his pointer  
finger. 

"That's the point," Kagome laughed. She took a bite and icing rubbed  
off on the tip of her nose. 

Inuyasha began snickering. 

"What?!" 

"Nothing, you just.." 

He laughed again. 

"Inuyasha!" 

"Here," He reached over to wipe off the icing, but she moved back and gave him an odd  
look. 

"What're you doing?" 

"Trying to get icing off you!" 

"Well, I can do it myself!" Kagome protested as she began dabbing a napkin on her face. 

"That's completely the wrong place. Let me do it." 

"No!" 

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes playfully at her. 

"You leave me no choice," he began. "I'll just have to chase you." 

"Ack! No!" Kagome leapt from her chair and dashed around the table.  
Inuyasha was up in a second and was dashing after her. She only made   
it into the bigger kitchen area before he cornered her. 

"Noo!" she squealed. "I can do it myself! I swear!" 

He smirked and advanced on her. 

"Inuyasha!" She pushed herself back against the  
counter; burying her face in her hands as a last attempt to stop him. The hanoyu wasn't giving up  
though. He pulled her arms away and pinned them on either side of her. 

"Look at me, Kagome," he laughed. "It's not like I'm gonna bite  
you." 

The girl gave him a wary look, and he laughed again. 

"Then what are you going to do?" 

His laughter stopped, but a small smile stayed on his lips. 

"Inuyasha.." 

He leaned down and gently kissed the tip of her nose. Kagome's  
face went bright red, and she let out a squeak of  
shock. 

"See?" he whispered as their faces were still close. "No bite." 

"Mmhm," Kagome answered quietly back as she tilted her head like he  
had before. "I knew you wouldn't." 

"Good," he breathed as he began to close the distance between their  
lips. 

"Okay, Kagome, I've let your brother open one--Oh my, I'm sorry!" 

Ms. Higurashi had a hand pressed to her mouth as Inuyasha and Kagome  
now stood five feet apart. The hanyou looked a little  
ticked, and Kagome looked exasperated. 

"No, it's okay, Mom. What is it?" 

"Oh, well, your brother is opening presents. I thought maybe  
you'd like to join us. But if you're busy.." 

"NO! I'm coming!" Kagome blushed harder. 

Ms. Higurashi nodded and walked out of the room. 

"Inuyasha," Kagome began. 

"Just go open your presents," he sighed. 

Kagome knew he was tired of trying to kiss her. Everytime they got so  
close... It was starting to annoy her, too. But it wasn't like  
she could help it. 

"Inuyasha, I'm sorry." 

"For what?" 

"You know!" 

"What? You can't even say it?!" 

Kagome frowned before grabbing his arm and tugging him into the living  
room. He didn't protest, but she knew he wasn't exactly a happy  
camper. 

"I got a pack of Drooloids cards!" Souta exclaimed. "Awesome! A  
Mega-Screaming-Werewolf card!" 

Inuyasha jerked away from Kagome and went to help Souta assemble some  
of his presents. She sighed, but knew he didn't want her company right now.. so she  
occupied herself with opening her own gifts instead. 

Her prizes included: some new makeup, a few nice shirts, a new journal, some jewelry, and lots of candy. Kagome didn't really notice the gifts though. She just felt like being alone. 

Once everyone was preoccupied, she gathered her presents and snuck up to her room. Inuyasha watched her go before standing up and following after her. 

"Where does he think he's going?!" Kagome's grandfather exclaimed. 

"He's going to talk to her, she's upset. So leave them be, Dad.  
And help me with this robot assembly. There sure are a lot of  
pieces..." 

::: 

::::: 

::: 

Kagome had buried her face into her pillow, and she  
was pondering on whether to cry or scream. Both  
sounded good. 

"This is so pathetic," she mumbled into her pillow. "Inuyasha hates me   
now..." 

The hanyou shut the door as quietly as possible behind  
him. He didn't want her to know he was there quite yet... 

"Stupid Souta, stupid Buyo, stupid Mom..." she continued. "It's so  
unfair! UGH!" 

She threw the pillow across the room in frustration and buried her  
face in her hands instead. This was when Inuyasha decided to make his  
presence known. 

"I don't hate you, Kagome," he said quietly, causing her  
to jump out of her skin. "But I am kind of pissed.." 

"You were eavesdropping on me?!" 

"Only for a minute!" 

"Inuyasha!" She sat up straight to stare up at him. "That's  
rude! And it's unethical! And it's mean! And it's--" 

He climbed onto the bed and placed a cool hand on her neck. 

"--it's inconsiderate! And you shouldn't be this close to me when I'm  
yelling at you! And--" 

He pulled her close and pressed his mouth against hers. She  
froze. His lips warmly caressed her own and all she could  
do was panic. But then she realized if she didn't do something back,  
he might stop kissing her. So she wrapped her arms around his neck and  
pulled him down with her; kissing him back. 

He laughed and deepened their kiss - Kagome happily let him. Her fingers intertwined with his  
hair for a moment before finding his ears. With no hesitation this  
time, she began to rub them the way he liked. In return, Inuyasha began to run his  
fingers through her hair; massaging her scalp in the process. 

Inuyasha was the first to pull away, and he began searching her face  
for any sign that she didn't like what had taken place. But if the  
fact that her fingers were still playing with his hair  
and his fuzzy appendages weren't a big enough clue, then her warm   
smile should've given it away. 

"Would you believe it?" Kagome murmured. "No  
interruptions." 

"You honestly think it'll last?" Inuyasha asked as he switched positions with her; allowing her to rest her head on his chest. 

"I hope so," she sighed contentedly. 

They lay in silence for a few minutes when Inuyasha remembered something. 

"Hey, Kagome?" 

"Mm?" 

"You said we'd go back as soon as the last present was opened so..." 

"INUYASHA!" 

::: 

::::: 

::: 

Sango sat grumpily in the brush, keeping watch on the well for a  
certain miko and hanyou. And hiding from a certain monk... 

"Sango! Where are you?! I know you're around here somewhere!" 

"No, I'm not!" 

"Yes, you are!" 

"No, I'm back at the hut!" 

"Sorry, say that again. I can't tell if you're to my left or my right." 

"GO AWAY, MIROKU!" 

"Ah. Left it is." 

He peeked around a tree and saw her sitting stiffly on a rock. 

"Found you!" 

"Great joy leaps in my soul. Congratulations." 

"Oh, come on,Sango. I'm sorry if I made you mad earlier..." 

"You didn't do anything earlier," she muttered. 

"Well, when did I make you mad?" He took a seat next to her. 

"All the time!" She threw her hands in the air for added  
drama. "You just keep groping strange women and asking them to bear  
your child. Then you turn around and expect me to put up with that crap too?!" 

"Err.." 

"God, Miroku! Ever think it hurts my feelings?!" 

"Umm.." 

"You're such an idiot." 

"Hey now!" 

Sango gave him a dark glare. 

"I said I was sorry!" 

"So?!" 

Miroku sighed and clasped her hand in his. 

"If it makes you feel better, I will try to think of your feelings  
before I act next time. Okay?" 

Sango flushed and snatched her hand back from Miroku. 

"Okay..." 

He grinned and opened his mouth to say something when a pinkish light  
flashed from the well. 

"--didn't even get to enjoy my presents, or eat lunch, or take a  
shower..." 

"Kagome, I get it. You're mad. Shut the hell up already!" 

"I barely had time to CHANGE before you dragged me through the well!" 

"Souta was going to make me play that weird card game again!" 

"Could you at least have let me brush my hair?!" 

Inuyasha jumped over the lip of the well and then helped Kagome up.  
She glowered at him. 

"Look! I'll brush your damn hair for you. Come here." 

"No! I can do it myself!" 

Inuyasha smirked. Kagome's eyes widened. 

"Not again!" 

She darted off into the trees, but she didn't get far before  
Inuyasha grabbed her by the waist and spun her around to face him. The   
miko laughed and let him run his clawed digits through her  
strands. 

"See? I don't bite." 

She laughed again and looked away. 

"Hey, Inuyasha," she began. "Is that.. mistletoe?" 

He looked above them at the dark evergreen plant with white berries. 

"Yeah.. it is..." 

They glanced back at each other and smiled. Then he dipped his head  
down and kissed her softly. 

Miroku and Sango stood in astonishment as they watched the pair. A  
slow smirk spread across the monk's face. 

"Damn," Sango sighed. 

"Well, a deal's a deal!" Miroku exclaimed. 

"Yeah, I suppose. I won't hit you for a week." 

"Then I might as well try out my new power over you..." 

"Don't you dare touch me!" 

Miroku leaned over and kissed her on the cheek, his long eyelashes tickling her a little. The demon slayer blushed and held a hand to her face as he walked off. 

"Now hold on just a minute! You can't be doing that either!" 

She ran off after him. 

Meanwhile, Inuyasha and Kagome were still embracing under the  
mistletoe. The snow had begun to fall again, creating a new white  
blanket on the ground. 

"Thanks for letting me stay with you for Christmas, Kagome," he  
whispered. 

"You're always welcome," She smiled up at him. 

"Am I?" 

"With open arms, Inuyasha, with open arms." 

::::: 

::: 

::::: 

End A/N: DONE! FINISHED! (falls out of chair dead) Review? 


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